Before the Family Picture

We always see the "good" family pictures on blogs. Here's what happened before our family picture at Camden Yards.

Mommy: "Michael, I am DONE asking nicely. Get over here for a picture."

Michael in his Head: "FiNE. I will come over there but I won't smile AND I'm going to put my mitt over my face."

Nilda's Easter Egg Hunt!

Yesterday, we went to a post Easter - Easter Egg hunt! It was originally supposed to happen before Easter, but it got rained out. This one was perfect:

Her backyard was amazing! Flat and full of grass. My favorite.

The kids had a great time playing in all the space and on all the toys.

Here's Michael helping Ms. Nilda distribute the eggs:
After the egg hunt, there was a bunny hop potato sack race:
And after that, water balloon time. Which then turned into: How many kids can you fit in a 10' diameter plastic pool:
Michael and I had a fantastic time and were thankful we were invited!

Still more posts - I guess we've been busy!

P

31 Days to Clean

For those who know me - I am not a "domestic diva." I hate to clean and can't say I am terribly good at it!

Well, here is a lady willing to help me.

Sarah Mae has written a book called: 31 Days to Clean

And she's giving a copy of her ebook for FREE if you post about it on your blog! So I am! I can't wait to see the tips she has to help people like me. Money Saving Mom posted about it and she's usually legit in her recommendations!

If you are interested in getting a free copy yourself, click on this link:

http://www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.com/home/2011/04/free-copy-of-31-days-to-clean/

You have until midnight!

P

Plumpton Park Zoo

On Monday, April 25, we met our friends (Tami - with Ashton/Ryan) at Plumpton Park Zoo to check it out. It was - different.

I think it was more of a farm than a zoo - however they had some of the big animals too. Here's a quick rundown:

• Black bear
• Tiger
• Various fast small cats.
• Giraffe
• Zebras.
• Donkeys
• Over half a dozen peacocks which roamed freely on top of cages and all over the "zoo"
• bison
• Cool chickens that look like they have wigs of hair. I didn't take a picture of it and can't even find a picture on google images! But they look like those chickens in cartoons/storybooks that have this huge mop of colored hair and you can't even see their eyes. SO funny!
• One smallish monkey
• An owl
• Lots of bamboo
• Some kind of small deer
• Cattle (somehow this made the zoo??)
• Llamas
• Camel
• Vocal turkeys

So seriously - it was built like a farm. With wire and wood and the paths were kind of muddy. But they had such a good variety of animals. I'm not sure they were in the best pens available and I'm sure PETA would have a field day at this zoo, but for how small it was, it sure did have a lot to look at and smell.

Some pictures from my phone:

Feeding the donkey with hay:

Michael has been dying to see a giraffe for months. Here he is with Ashton:

Ryan, Ashton's brother, gets in the picture too. Both Ryan and the giraffe did not cooperate:

It was hot. And by hot, I mean in the upper 70's and lower 80's! We packed a picnic and they had a great picnic area/park. The boys had a great time taking a bite of lunch and running to climb up something! Tami and I had a good time chatting it up!

It was a great way to spend a Monday out!

Ranger Baseball in Baltimore, MD

While I was away at my Christian Women's retreat, Brian planned us a vacation to Baltimore, MD! It was a fantastic idea. A great way to see the Bowmans (probably the last time before their move back to the big T-X) and also see a Rangers Ball game at Camden Yards against the Orioles!

Both families had sports activities in the AM on Sat 4/9 (Michael's first t-ball game) so we met in Baltimore in the afternoon. We started at the Maryland Science Center, which was great!

Charlie/Michael playing at the water display.

FACT: You are nothing as a children's museum in the USA if you don't have a water area:

Parents hanging out while children engage in independent play:
What Michael thinks of modern art, his playground:
After the Science center, we walked the Inner Harbor and our little guys made mischief of one kind and then another:
Dinner at Pizzeria Uno and then back to the hotel!

We had a pretty full day what with the t-ball, excitement about Baltimore leading to a non-nap, Science Center, eating out - Michael was a bit of a mess.

We checked into our hotel. I started arranging our stuff and turned around to find this:
Guess he was a little tired. Not too tired for pool time though! He went swimming with Charlie and the dads until 10pm. It is not a joke when you read that the vacation for kids is really the hotel pool.

We got adjoining hotel rooms, put the kids to bed in one room, and stayed up playing games in the other! I love AMERICA! It was a big slumber party and super fun!

Next day, breakfast at Caribou coffee after a "scenic" walk through downtown Baltimore. Then, off to see the Rangers play ball!
I love ball parks. So vintage americana - which I love for some reason:


Michael enjoyed his first foot long hotdog and foray into ball park food:
Best picture I could get of father and son after the game! Sorry!

And a picture of Michael's rug burn:
He was running too fast and lost control, fell, and skidded on his face. The "wound" in real life was a lot worse looking than in this picture! Poor kid. Only MY son would be the one to hurt himself while running in a hotel hallway.

We had a great time and were glad to spend some time with good friends from back home!

Can you tell which post had the most pictures to edit? Yea - the last post I am behind on! :)

Love,

P

YIPPEE!

So I've been staring at my baby grand piano wishing and hoping that one of two things would happen:

1) I'd get a spare moment when I could play and Michael wouldn't be banging on the keyboard next to me or yanking my arm down. This is rare as that would require Michael sleeping, at which point - I would not be practicing piano.

2) Michael would be interested in learning to play it.

He's had a passing interest and really only likes certain "lessons." I was feeling pretty dejected about the whole thing because I feel like the piano is wasting away.

Dramatic? Who? Me?

Today - Michael blew me away because he not only asked for a lesson - but he "played" a whole song. Not a real song. Like kid's memory of Mary had a little lamb.

But he flipped to a lesson that covered the value of a whole note. And he learned that in about 1/2 a second. Then, I covered a half note and a quarter note - and he learned that in about another half a second. Then I showed him a set of "measures," which in this preschool book - each measure is a section of a train. Each measure had different combinations of rhythms in it - quarter notes/half notes/whole notes.

And Michael played it. Right the first time. Values and everything. No melody though as it was always the same note, just at different values so kids could learn the values of each type of note.

We had the metronome going and while he wasn't exactly on the beat (Besancon in him coming through ) - he was pretty correct most of the time.

My son is sightreading!

I was so very impressed. He learned it so quickly and he was playing. And he got up and said, I'm going to practice that so I can show Daddy tonight!

Pretty happy for my little boy. When he wants to learn something - he's ON IT.

Now - reading - that's a different story. THAT has been like pulling teeth.

I'm not a mother to push things - when he's ready and interested - I'll be ready and waiting - because that's the best part about being a stay at home mom. I'm there. And I'll be ready to teach him/show him the next thing he wants to learn!

Until he starts asking me about moments diagrams in Civil engineering. THAT I have no idea about. I'll be refering him to his grandpa and his dad.

Yea - that's assuming he's going into a science or math field.

What? I'm asian aren't I?!?!

Knocking out all my "easy" posts - in a semi-backwards fashion. Now onto some posts where I actually have to edit some pictures! But before I do, just some ballpark pics I'm playing with:

I'd LOVE to do a session at a ballpark one day! That would be TOO fun. But a smaller ballpark, not one that has like 4 decks. I loved this Orioles stadium - small enough to be intimate, but large enough to feel grand.

Please Touch Museum - Philadelphia

I took Michael to the Please Touch Museum (Children's Museum - just for clarification) - in Philly one day.

It is very far away and incredibly challenging for an Asian person like me to navigate. Let's just say once you get downtown, there are 1.5 lanes that Philly-pians think are 2 lanes and they drive like they're in freakin' Korea - all at the same time while stuck behind a tram and trying to drive while your tires are in the tram track grooves.

Nope, not my speciality.

BUT - it was SO worth it! Michael LOVED LOVED the museum.

In the craft/play room:

On the indoor carousel:
On the Big Piano - by the same maker as the one in Big/FAO Schwartz - except this one is a bit broken:
That blur is Michael in the huge water section:
And probably the most popular was this crane that dug up a balloon ball pit:


He had a fantastic time! So much to do - indoor food shopping/etc. He went CRAZY in the children's super market. All my pictures of him there were super blurry there because he was so fast. You would have thought he was on the Price Is Right or something. He cracked me up though because he went to the "fish case" and cleaned it out. I think he had about 20 kilo of trout in his cart.

Glad we went - but with gas at $4.14 a gallon, it's gonna be a splurge/treat kind of day! I want to get a membership pretty badly because it's pretty steep just to go for one visit ($41 for both of us after parking/carousel tickets/admission!). It's only $125 a year for membership up to 4 people. However, since it is so far away - I'm taking pause.

First Tee-Ball Game

On April 9th, Michael had his first t-ball game and Brian was of course, coach:

Thankfully, another boy in Michael's preschool class is on the team too and his dad is assistant coach - although he's so good he might as well be head coach! Brian's just glad for the help!

Michael definitely enjoyed it, however, I do not think it is as natural to him as soccer!

Here's Michael's first at bat:

Running towards 2nd base:
Hopping on it:
And on 3rd base next to dad:
It was really funny because all the outfielders just wanted to get the ball. Which led to a lot of this:

That would be a lot of outfielders all at the ball. I think we had one person on base at this time. And the other coach kept saying, "Hey guys, we are all on the same team!"

Brian said our t-ball team has a real hunger for the ball. While our soccer team was pretty content just standing around. So it would have been nice to have had our t-ball team for soccer and our soccer team for t-ball. That would have worked out perfectly!

Michael had fun, which was all that mattered! Our last game was in the cold and rain and pretty miserable. But our team actually scored a bonafide out! Yea! Progress!

Ticks

Michael got his first tick. Despite our best efforts, the tick's head is still embedded in his skin. Off to call the dr tomorrow to see what to do next. Gonna pray that tick was not carrying Lyme disease and hasn't been embedded in there for more than 1-2 days. We didn't give Michael a bath yesterday (or the night before) so we haven't done any tick checks! We haven't been outside much at all except for today so I am really seriously hoping that the tick found its way there today!

Way to go on Easter!
P

Le Printemps est arrive!

Dans mon jardin:

My favorite image from the DC trip.

Percy's Piglets

This picture cracks me up every time. He's shovin' his face full of Percy's Piglets, pig shaped fruit snacks from England.

Michael loves loves gummy candy.

MOPS Easter Egg Hunt

Last Monday, April 11, Michael went hunting for eggs in a field out by our MOPS church.

Here's Michael's before picture - with an empty Easter basket and a field full of chocolate/sticker filled plastic:

My friend's daughter really wanted to be in the picture.

They said, "Ready, set, go" and the kids were already on the field by "set":

Michael had an awesome time.

As judged by his loot:

This picture might be better:
Afterwards, we had a picnic at a nearby park and played outside since the weather was beautiful. Fun Monday. Also the Monday where I couldn't get my car inspected because I had no idea where my registration was or what it looked like.

Turns out it was a rectangular piece of paper that looks like a check that had been laying on my island for 2-3 weeks getting grease stains and water spilled on it.

Yup, that would be my registration.

Also, did you know a cracked windshield fails inspection? Somehow in the Besancon household, we have had to pay for 2 windshields to be replaced in the last 2 months. YEA US!

Michael's Dr Visit

Everything looks good so far for Michael! He is a healthy boy!

He is about 38.5 lbs and is 53% for that. He has gained 3.5-4 lbs since last year.

He is about 3 feet 8 inches tall and is 79% for that. He grew 4 inches this last year.

Glad he's got Brian's height and not mine.

He has 20-30 vision. I took the test next to him to see what my vision was. I think I'll still be going to my grown up vision screen too though. :)

He hid from the doctor underneath the exam bench and popped out eventually when he got tired of crouching.

And he got a chicken pox booster shot. He said he wanted to sit in the chair by himself instead of in my lap. Right before the nurse got the shot in, he tore his hand out and ran away - but she caught him like a slippery fish and gave him the shot. He looked at me with big weepy eyes and said, "Mommy that hurt me!"

After about 10 minutes of feeling like he could not use that arm, he was fine. I think the promise of 20 gummy bears when we got home helped!

Check!

Sister Visit = Fully stocked Kitchen

My sister arrived last Thursday and we bought food the entire time she was here. Good thing she left on Sunday!! :)

I seriously looked at my kitchen Sunday and thought - "I need to have a party."

I love having a fellow foodie in my sister. We have a great time eating and buying food. Definitely got that from our parents!

Although - her purchase of a Costco size container of cheezey puffs "for Michael" would allude to the fact that we are, in fact, not terribly discerning.

So Suzanne arrived on Thursday and we went shopping for her to get some new clothes. Because this is what sisters do. And she took me to Sephora to teach me what makeup and a skincare regimen is and how I really should be using it. If it were not for my sister, I would have no idea what to put on my face.

On Friday, she came with me to MOPS and homegroup and was a tremendous help. In between, we attacked Trader Joe's and Old Navy. Then everyone in the house fell asleep by 10:30pm except me.

Saturday, we stood in the cold and rain at Michael's t-ball game and then sat inside to warm up and dry off. Somehow, we found the will to go to Marshalls Home Goods.

There is a reason I never go to Marshalls Home Goods. And it is reserved for special visits from my parents or sister. It falls into the same category as Costco. There's tons of great stuff that I kind of need and love for pretty good prices.

Kind of need. But not REALLY need right?

Anyways, I went to town in there. In the middle of our shopping trip, a BAD storm rolled in and the lights in Marshalls went completely out. I'm standing in the dark with my cart full of stuff. Hoping the lights come back on so I can buy my stuff.

THAT is a shopaholic!

But it was a super successful Marshalls shopping trip - I got some great wall art to base my master bedroom design scheme/color scheme off of - replaced a non-stick pan that is starting to chip and the handle is wobbly - bought a small bath mat for the guest room because there is not one when you first step out of the bath tub - got some sippy cups with a straw in it (Michael's favorite) - found some Easter cupcake decorations (perfect for the island display this weekend) - almost picked up a lamp.

This is why I don't go to Marshalls on a regular basis.

Then we met Brian at the Chipotle in Newark where I got a parking ticket because my meter expired. I deserved it since my sister was urging me the whole time to feed the meter and we kept thinking - WHAT parking police office is going to be out in that monsoon?!?!

Apparently there was one. And he got me after my meter was expired for only 5 minutes.

Then, Michael said we should go bowling! So we did! And we had such fun!! He has such great suggestions lately for things to do. And it makes my heart happy because he must have learned that we need to "do things" together as a family and to "explore" our world.

Sunday morning, we went to church while Suzanne packed and then we took her to DC and sat in some pretty horrendous traffic, which made us an hour late. Pretty embarrased about that.

THEN, it was our Annapolis, MD entry below.

Annapolis, MD

This Sunday, we dropped my sister off in Washington DC to meet her friend (more on my sister's visit later!) and left tout-de-suite.

Why you ask?

Because it was gorgeous weather and The Mall was a madhouse. Parking was non-existent as there was some kind of race plus DC challenge event going on plus standard milling on the mall because it is a pretty day.

On a whim, we saw a sign for Annapolis, and we went for it.

We have decided we are very spontaneous. By which we mean - doing things unprepared. Thank God for the invention of smartphones. I'd still be lost deep in PA somewhere without it.

!

So we went to Annapolis and it was beautiful:

We stopped at the Visitor's Center to get our bearings and started walking around. Here's B and Michael with the State building in the back (I think):

There was a festivus for the rest of us going on. Here's a picture of me - next to a guy with a Nikon D700 on his shoulder. I wanted to reach out and touch it, but thought better of it when I saw him:
That's the closest I'm coming to that camera for a while. *sniff*

A more appropriate picture of me without the Nikon D700 in it.
Can you tell what I am obsessed with lately?

At a festival, there must be a booth with animals apparently. Here's this cute cuddly owl:
And a red snake that Michael really liked:
We walked along Main Street and along the festival street and that's about all we had time for. Here's a back alley view of the State House:
We did not get to see our nation's Naval academy, but we did get to ride a water taxi at Michael's request:
He loved it! We rode it to a restaurant called The Boatyard - which had surprisingly little seafood. However, we ordered one out of the 2 fish dishes and it was seriously amazing. Best fish I've had in a while!

We walked back across the drawbridge and caught the sun setting on the Chesapeake Bay:
Got in the car, and drove the 1.67 hours back to PA.

It was a really nice detour and a fun adventure for us. We really love to travel so it was really fun to explore a new place!

This was easy to post about because 1) I took the pics with my iphone so I don't really feel the need to edit them. 2) the post is short. 3) I just downloaded my pictures from my phone.

More posts later! All out of order. I'm sure.

Better late than never!

Off to bed. My eyes are tired after making birth announcements for a client for 2.5 hours and then doing this.

Love,

P